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What’s good, family. It’s your boy Sykes here, once again, to usher you into tonight’s playoff action. But first, a quick word on the Golden State Warriors.
Man. It’s hard to believe that the run the Warriors have been on over the last decade started all the way back in 2015.
But here they are, once again. Back in the NBA Finals for the 6th time in 8 years and, well, that alone is pretty incredible. They told us they’d be back. And here they are, awful hats and all.
We’ve known this moment was coming for a few days now — since they took a 3-0 lead on the Dallas Mavericks. It’d been rightly assumed that they’d make it back to the Finals, which is always a pretty incredible thing to do. But especially so when you make it back to the top of the mountain after tumbling quite literally all the way to the bottom.
Yet, truthfully, it doesn’t feel like anyone is really talking about the feat itself. It feels like something that has fallen by the wayside.
Instead of celebrating the Warriors’ fairly unprecedented run of success, people are either getting way too far ahead of themselves.
On one end of the spectrum, folks like Patrick Beverley are comparing Stephen Curry’s resume to LeBron James’ and saying “they’re right there.” And that might be true! You can truly believe that. But it just doesn’t feel like a great time to debate it considering that this run isn’t quite over yet.
On the other end, you’ve got folks only bringing up this Warriors’ run to somehow amplify the accomplishments of James, as if one of the greatest players of all time actually needed that.
Look, folks. I’m not here to say these debates don’t have merit or to judge whether this is fodder worth discussing or not. But let’s be real — this is offseason content. We can discuss it later. There’s plenty of time to do all that.
But, y’all. The Warriors just made the NBA Finals for the 6th time in the last 8 years. This is Michael Jordan’s Bulls territory we’re talking about here. That’s pretty unprecedented.
And, for now, I think that should just be enough. At least until we get to the basketball.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Speaking of the Warriors, this NBA Finals is yet another chance for Stephen Curry to grab that elusive Finals MVP trophy. And it might actually be his last best shot. Our Prince Grimes has more.
“Now, Curry is the top dog again. If the Celtics advance, there’s a case to be made for Tatum as the best player in the series, but he simply doesn’t have the same experience on this stage. Same can be said for Butler. No one on either Eastern Conference team has Curry’s combination of skill and Finals experience. And both teams would be an underdog to the Warriors, who have -145 odds to win it all.
That puts Curry, 34, in the driver seat for NBA Finals MVP, the last piece missing from his legendary career. And because the Warriors are no longer the young upstarts, there’s no guarantee he’ll get another shot. Now is the time.”
We’ll see how it shakes out.
I don’t know about y’all, man. But I’m ready for this series to be over. The Miami Heat seem to have absolutely nothing when it comes to advantages against the Celtics’ defensive length. Plus, there are so many players battling with injuries in this one. I think the Celtics take this going away. Take them -8.5 tonight.
Who’s in and out?
—Marcus Smart (ankle) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Heat
—Robert Williams (knee) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Heat
— Tyler Herro (groin) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Celtics
— Kyle Lowry (hamstring) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Celtics
— Max Strus (hamstring) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Celtics
— PJ Tucker (knee) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Celtics
— Gabe Vincent (hamstring) is questionable for Friday’s game against the Celtics
Shootaround
—A Celtic has a real shot at winning the Larry Bird MVP trophy tonight, but which C’s players may have won it before if it existed? Celtics Wire takes a look.
—A list of the 10 best prop bets for tonight’s game
— Chet Holmgren is somehow making Dirk Nowitzki and David Robinson look like they’re my height in comparison to him.
Enjoy the hoops tonight, y’all!
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